Though it is not just the club who is running so professionally as any European clubs, the fans – West Block Blues has also earned their respect in terms of passion, dedication, commitment, not only towards their club but also with the Indian National side.

Stephan Constantine, head coach of Indian Senior Football Team, has also praised the West Block Blues in his recently launched book ‘From Delhi to the Den’ which is quite admirable for any Indian football fan.

A small paragraph from his book: “For the Guam game, I walked on to the pitch and looked at the West Block. A huge banner – 5,200 square feet, apparently – almost covered the top tier. 

The road is long – it said. But the belief is everything. Stand up for Indian football.

My heart filled with pride. In three lines and fourteen words, they had captured my message. It gave me a massive boost. To see that after losing five in a row was fantastic. I can’t thank them enough.”

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NEW DELHI: As India reached their second-best FIFA Ranking (96) ever in the latest FIFA Rankings published on July 6, 2017, and as connoisseurs start to mention about Stephen Constantine having a ‘magic wand,’ the man himself feels that it’s all about teamwork. In an exclusive interview, he speaks at length about the life of a Coach, the difficulty in celebrating moments, his personal satisfaction and much more. EXCERPTS:

Can a Coach ever be satisfied?

There is always the next game which comes to your mind. So it’s not always possible to enjoy the moment. That’s how life is as you are always trying to get better. People may be tempted to go crazy with the recent rise in Rankings and the results, but we cannot get carried away.

People mention you have a magic wand.

(Smiles). I don’t think it’s going to anything do with magic. It’s just a respect for my job and respect for my players, as much it’s the respect for the people around me. These are the key ingredients to any National Team moving forward.

But the Coach is always in the spotlight.

He is, but a Football Team is never about one single person. I take responsibility when the Team is not doing well and share the praise when the Team is doing well. That’s how it is.

Prior to taking up the second stint with India, you were Coaching Rwanda. Why did you yourself step down to take over a Team of more than 100 places in the FIFA Rankings?

I was here some ten years prior and at that time no one knew me. I have always had an emotional attachment with India. Having said that, 2015 was the first year after the Indian Super League was launched. I could foresee a change coming as Indian Football had itself decided that it needed to change. I felt that I could help them go forward. Luckily, Mr Patel also thought the same.

At the end of the day, all in solitude in your room, what thoughts come back?

(Smiles again). I prefer to sit back, relax a bit and think about how many players I brought through to International Football. And by the way, I am not speaking about the number of players who get International debuts.

Can you elaborate?

If you look at the current Team that started in our last two matches against the Kyrgyz Republic and Nepal, seven from the first XI have been introduced through a process in the last two years. That’s what satisfies me – the immense progress that the boys are making. I did the same thing in Rwanda, Malawi, Sudan, Nepal and even the first time I coached India.

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“Obviously our primary target is to qualify for the AFC U-23 Championship. There’s absolutely no second thought on that”, the Englishman sounded aptly focused while www.the-aiff.com caught up with him at the Ambedkar Stadium during the practice session of the U-22 National Team.

“I have always believed in building a ‘team for the future’. Eventually, in a few years, these guys will represent India National Team. My eventual goal is to unearth some talents who’ll be ready for the Senior National Team”, he rattled at one go.

Referring to the forthcoming exposure trip to California, Stephen exuded, Our aim is to get accustomed to the conditions of Qatar as much as possible. New Delhi is hot, California will be hot too which will be helpful for the boys during the Qualifiers. Playing against those sides will get us closer to our target.”

He added more, “We’ll play three or four matches against some quality club team, even a few senior teams. Who knows, they might pick someone (referring to the current U-22 boys who are in the camp now) and we might end up with the first Indian player to play in the USA.”

The man, who turned everything into gold whatever he touched in the last year, always gives due respect to his opponents and it’s no exception this time too.

“We’re clubbed with very strong teams in the Qualifier and every match will be tough. Qatar will be the team to beat in their backyard. Syria and Turkmenistan will be testing us too.”

He reiterated that ‘intensity of the National Team is pretty high and it’s the demand at the International stage.’

“They are facing it the first time and believe me, it’s not easy to get accustomed to the setup on and off the field. They’ve got two options left with them, either get used to it or to let it go.”

Stephen is on the cusp of rewriting the Indian Football history of winning maximum International matches on a trot with the Senior National Team.

Referring to the abrupt switching to the U-22 setup within a few days of winning the gigantic clash against the Kyrgyz Republic he stated, “It’s pretty same actually. The philosophy is same, the drills, system, the ultimate lookout-everything is same. For me, there’s absolutely no difference between the Senior National Team and these bunch of youngsters.”

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